Current Event Debate

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We will be creating this debate in three separate stages. Part 1 - Individual debate question presentations with an annotated bibliography.Part 2 - An individual research report based on an assigned lens once the debate question has been selected and students have been assigned to proposition and opposition groups. Part 3 - Evaluation of research reports within proposition and opposition teams to create opening remarks, debate points, and closing statements.*See calendar for all specific due dates

Part 1 - Developing research questions and creating an annotated bibliography in APA format

Before we can begin to agree or disagree with any topic, we must first establish what the question is that we are to answer. Developing a good research question is critical. Without one, you can end up picking a question that is too broad to be properly researched or does not allow for debates between perspectives. When developing a good research question it's important to remember the following:

Require a judgement or evaluation to be made (not just description);

Are researchable (it is possible to find relevant and credible sources);

Involve genuine points of ongoing debate;

Invite engagement with alternative perspective; and

Are simple and do not contain multiple, nested questions. ​

Some steps to consider while forming your research question:

Choose a topic of interest. This topic should have a clear focus that will guide your resaerch

Start developing a list of questions about the conversation you have decided to join. When developing your list, think about what you want to accomplish with your research. Your research questions should begin with words such as what, why, when, where, who, how, would, could, and should.

Once you have a list of research questions, it is time to select which one will be the focus of your research. Choose a question that best meets your interest and purpose.

Finally, you will need to refine your research question. When writing research questions, revision is inevitable. You want to make sure your question is not vague or too broad. One good way to do this is to conduct a preliminary search for resources. If your preliminary research yields too many results, you should probably limit the scope of your study. However, if you receive too few results, you should broaden the scope of your question. ​​

Once you've developed your research question, you will need to research and present your information in the form of an annotated bibliography. For the purpose of this proposal, you will need to find two articles. One will need to "agree" with your question, and one will need to "disagree" with your question. Each bibliographic entry should include two paragraphs. The first paragraph will detail the SOAPS of the article, and the second paragraph will detail how the information found in the article answers your research question. You will create this annotated bibliography in APA format, and you are required to have a title page. The title of your title page will be your research question.

Part 2 - Researching a question through specific lenses and perspectives

Once the research question has been selected it's time to begin the formal research process. Each member within your proposition or opposition group will be assigned a lens through which to view the question. In addition to a specific lens, you should also be certain you are gathering several perspectives.

EXAMPLE:Research question - Should American businesses be required to provide six month paid maternity leave?Assigned lens #1 - EconomicPossible perspectives for lens #1 - the mothers (families) on leave that may need the finances, the businesses who would be paying for an employee who isn't there, etc.​Assigned lens #2 - ScientificPossible perspectives for lens #2 - the pediatricians who claim the health of the infant is better the longer the infant is not in day care, the OB/GYNs who claim the mental health of the mother is improved by being able to bond more fully with the infant, and etc.

You will compile your information into an expository (NO ARGUMENT AT THIS POINT - JUST FACTS) essay of approximately 1200 words (not including the reference page). Because this is such a short paper, you will not be required to include an abstract. And yes, you will need quotes, and yes those quotes need to be properly cited in APA format, and yes you will need a references page. This entire paper will need to be in APA format. Refer to the link above for formatting help. ​

At this point, as an opposition or proposition group, you will review each others' research to determine how best to argue your position. What evidence best supports your position? What evidence do you need to acknowledge and refute to strengthen your position? What evidence do you think the other team will include and how will you counter argue it? This debate structure will be the same as the last debate, so plan your evidence accordingly. ​

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